Underground Mysteries
by TheShock
Summary: Gumball and Darwin were enjoying a normal day in Elmore, but the moment they received a mysterious game, things started to change. The adventure they were about to embark on was nothing like they witnessed so far.


**Honestly, I want to shoo some of the plotbunnies away.**

 **They're obsessively jumping around in my head. Agh.**

**Me: Stop, guys. I mean, literally! I have** _ **Just About Saving Her**_ **on my watch, not to mention** _ **Life in Possum Springs**_ **! Are you literally serious on pushing me to do THIS one?!**

**Plotbunnies: Come on, Shock, it's not like the idea didn't roll around in your head.**

**Me: Dudes, I don't even watch the show** _ **that**_ **much. I might get them OOC! :( You know how—**

**Plotbunnies: You'll pull this off. You can build large chapters, right?**

**Me: Idiots! I don't have that much DETERMINATION anymore. Have you taken into consideration that I'm busy—?**

**Plotbunnies: Shhh….You can do this. Just start the idea.**

**Me: ...Oh God, you plotbunnies are really a pain. You're bloody aware I might land flat-faced on this one too!**

**Plotbunnies: *cue Flowey's mad laughter***

**Me: ...Eff you guys.**

**So, anyways, sorry for my rambling with the plotbunnies, *sweatdrops*, they sure like to come to life. I had this idea for a long while now, and seeing as someone attempted something and then discarded it…Ah, their Determination was weaker than mine.**

 **I've seen a few episodes of the show, so I know how the characters act — though don't expect them to be nailed to the piece, 'cause I don't follow the show sequentially. Basically, I have a rough idea about how this will go, since Gumball and Darwin have experienced a shit-ton of paranormal things in Elmore. Of course, it starts out as a normal day, and then whoop!**

 ***cue Mettaton's voice*: DRAMA, ACTION, BLOODSHED! ….well not really bloodshed, unless Carrie gets a** _ **little**_ **too fascinated with the idea, *sweatdrops***

 **And I bet Gumball will see a little of his mom and pops' dysfunctional relationship in Tori and Asgore's relationship. Except both monsters are actually good at doing what they do…unlike Richard and Nicole. *rolls eyes***

… **Jeez, what have I gotten myself into?**

 **Underground Mysteries is a go!**

 **Prologue**  
 _ **A Normal Day**_

It was a quiet day in Elmore City, as nothing out of the ordinary happened. The sun was shining, birds were chirping lively, and the weather seemed perfect for a game of "Dodge or Dare", something Gumball and Darwin were always looking forward to — and after which Nicole, their mother, had to keep a stern lesson on _why_ is it dangerous to play with things in the trash. Luckily for her, the only less-than-reckless child of the family, Anais, was smart enough to avoid getting herself into trouble.

Gumball was lazily sitting on his bed, playing with a feather from his pillow. He wasn't allergic to feathers, unlike Darwin, who could sneeze that loud and that strong enough to tear apart houses and trees, but he was sensible enough to keep away the feathers in his presence.

There was a lot on his mind, with Principal Brown threatening him with the fact he will be expelled from school — just how many times did that old codger say that? — with Penny being a lot more aware of their feelings rather than himself, with Anais being the best of the family, while he was a sore loser…

Needless to say, he felt that he was dragging everyone down, until his fish brother came barging in, with a bright smile on his face, holding a game in his teeth that he placed on the desk the computer was on. Gumball was a little intrigued by the excitement of his brother — not that he wasn't like that _every_ day — and thought a little conversation wouldn't hurt at all.

"So," the blue cat said as he put away the feather, "whatcha' got there, Darwin?"

"Oh, oh!" the orange fish said, with excitement in his eyes, "It's a spin-off based on The Tale of Zelmore! Come on, let's play it!"

"Uh, are you sure we can trust this? It's not even from Mic Games…Who gave this to you?" Gumball asked, a little skeptical.

"Oh, it was Tobias' idea. He said he already played the game, and gave it to me, as a gift for us trying to be his friends." Darwin stated, his grin fading a little. "What, do you think he's lying? Oh, Gumball…"

The blue cat rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, "Fine, fine, we'll play it. But if it's anything else than that…we're going to wreck it, okay?"

"Sure, Gumball," Darwin said, with a smile.

 **(Later…)**

"Jeez, how lucky _we_ are that it actually works with the console we bought back then," Gumball said, a little sarcastic. "If it wouldn't have, we would be crying in here."

"Drop it, Gumball, you're excited about this as much as I am," Darwin said, his voice a little protesting.

"Darwin, stop being on my case. Let's enjoy the game, ok?"

A strange title screen appeared on the tv, as they turned it on. Darwin's eyes widened in shock, while Gumball's jaw dropped to the floor, and seconds later the blue cat's face spelled complete anger…

 **THE TALE OF [REDACTED]**  
 **VER. 0.0.0**  
 **PLAY?**

"Are you even serious? WHAT kind of an idiot gives us a game that doesn't even WORK?" Gumball roared as he planted a paw to his face. "I'm not going to play this f***ing game."

Just then, Nicole entered the house as she heard the rather gross language Gumball used, and she passed straight to the kitchen in order to place the groceries she just bought, before roaring Gumball's name so loud even Larry could've sworn he heard Ms. Watterson.

" **Gumball Tristoph Watterson!** "

"Oh, great, now I'm getting the 'How-to-not-use-bad-language-in-front-of-Mom-101' lesson," Gumball rolled his eyes as he dropped the controller of the console and headed out for the kitchen, where Nicole was standing, her face spelling utter insanity as her arms were folded.

"Gumball," she started in that soothing voice of hers which usually turned dangerous in the next seconds, " **what did I tell you about swearing at such a young age?** "

"I'm sorry, Mom, I just slipped it out—!"

"That's not a good excuse. You will be babysitting Anais for the next week." Nicole said, as she shook her head in irritation.

"What? Babysitting Anais? Are you serious?" he said, with a frustrated sigh, only to quit complaining seconds later as he witnessed his mom's eyes yellow with fury. "…O-Okay….I'll babysit Anais…"

"That's better," his mother said, as her demeanor returned to its' usual, somewhat serene state. "Now, where's your father? He was usually at home…Or…"

"Mr Dad got a job the other day!" Darwin shouted from the other room, as he made way towards the kitchen. "He's working as a plumber, fixes pipes!"

" _Richard, working?"_ Nicole's mind froze up for a moment, as she heard that. _"No, it can't be real, Richard's a big Peter Pan, how could he_ — _"_

"Honey, I'm home!" Richard Watterson said gleefully, as he entered the house. He was a little smelly, and his work clothes were stained, but he looked generally happy as the two boys — and Anais — made their way to greet him. While Nicole was still frozen in place, unable to understand how _Richard_ , Richard the baby-man, actually got a job.

"Heya Dad/Hi, Dad!" his children greeted lightly, as he smiled with a slight flop of his ears. "How was your day at work, Mr. Dad?" Darwin asked immediately, curious about his father's progress.

"Oh, it was okay…I guess. I didn't break anything this time!" Richard said, with a small laugh. "I'm lucky I got a friend who helps me out."

After a while, Nicole came out of the kitchen, greeting him with a plastered smile, her eye twitching in confusion and irritation. The sight of her was indeed disheartening the pink rabbit, who looked forward to announce his wife that he finally decided to lay off all the laziness and start being an actual role model to his children.

But even Gumball found it a little odd. _"What's got into Dad, lately? He's acting strange, like really strange. It's almost like someone did influence his life. And it wasn't Mom…"_

"Hi, Richard," the large blue feline said, with an awkward lifting of her right paw. "I-I heard from Darwin that you got a job. I-I just—"

"Yeah, I know, hard to understand." he summed up the feelings of his wife. "It's hard to understand for me too, but at least, it's a change, right?"

" _Yeah, whatever, Richard,"_ Nicole thought as she slightly nodded, and returned to the kitchen as she unpacked the groceries.

It seemed like a normal day so far, but as it was with Elmore, one change could trigger the supernatural forces to come and play a part. It happened a lot of times, and almost everytime, it was on the Wattersons to stop the madness that befell Elmore — and nobody really thanked them for preventing such catastrophies — yes, a thankless job, keeping watch over a town without really meaning it, and yet, Gumball and Darwin were just ordinary boys living an ordinary life…

…Which was about to change soon enough.


End file.
